A Second Chance
by Lord Archmage
Summary: A mysterious figure has entered the Gungeon, wielding spells instead of bullets. The Gungeon takes a mysterious liking to him...
1. Chapter 1: A Perilous Prison

Throughout the galaxy, a legend is told...

On a distant planet,

a grim fortress stood...

...until a deadly force parted the heavens

and descended upon the keep.

Though brought to ruin,

the ashes of that place hold an artifact of impossible power.

A gun that can kill the past.

Over time, the fortress was rebuilt,

and some who hear the legend would risk anything for another shot.

To claim their prize and make what was done, undone,

they must...

ENTER THE GUNGEON

The Breach was calm that day, everyone was minding their own business; it was a day of peaceful respite; nobody had entered the perilous Gungeon yet, but the morning was young. The Marine, the Pilot and the Convict were playing poker while the Hunter was playing with Junior the second.

A cloaked figure walked in through the large, rumbling doors, drawing everyone's attention. He walked up the stairs where the guards were pacing around; they impeded the figure's advance by crossing their spears.

"Newcomers must first go to the Hall of Knowledge before being allowed into the Gungeon. The library is down there to the right."

The figure wanted to shout at them about how he wouldn't be needing training of any sorts the way he fought, but he remembered that knowing the enemy is half the fight, so he complied after muttering a thank you.

He paid no heed to the people who were staring at him. Next to the staircase sat a drunken, blue, reptilian creature who hiccupped. It was sitting next to a few broken bottles of alcoholic beverages.

"Well, what do we have here? You must be a new arrival. Let me guess. Here to change the past, right? Well, you're not the first. But there's no salvation here. I was like you once, came to change the past. And now I have no future... Heh heh heh heh..." He said in a droning, depressed, tone.

"Well, since you're here... Let me help you out. Manny's just through this door here. He'll... give you a tour... So off you go. It is why you came, isn't it? To this accursed temple? Hah hah hah hah..." said the hopeless stranger.

The figure went downstairs into the brown library and was startled by the sudden appearance of a ghost. The dead old man spoke with a booming voice.

"Wayward Soul! Approach me! For it is I, Ser Manual! Heed my words and I shall show you how to survive this accursed Labyrinth. Continue through the door to begin your tutelage!"

To his surprise, the ghost did not disappear and waited for him to go first.

"Onward! To greatness!"

The library was spacious.

"Try flipping those tables or kicking those barrels. You can use those as cover in a gunfight."

The figure released some of his frustration by destroying the room.

"Yeah! Tear this place up; I'll clean it later."

Once he was satisfied with the damage, he stopped and looked at the ghost.

"Excellent interacting, pupil! Proceed to the next room."

The next room contained a translucent blue barrier that blocked a line of bullets that covered the room. There was no way to walk through it, not even a gap.

"This is the most important lesson. You can dodge roll. You are INVULNERABLE TO GUNFIRE during the FIRST HALF of the dodge roll, but vulnerable again when you hit the ground. This means you can dodge THROUGH bullets and other hazards. It requires precise timing. I will now lift the barrier and you will use the dodge roll to reach the other side without perishing."

Had he heard that correctly? He'd heard of stranger magics, but this seemed ridiculous. There was little time to think about it as the ghost was about to lift the barrier.

"Ready... GO!"

He readied himself and rolled.

 _Good thing my training required me to be nimble_

He landed on his feet, imagining it would begin to hurt his back if he did that often. He did it three more times and awaited further instruction in the next room, where a few turrets on the wall began to shoot, forming a thick wall of bullets blocking the next door.

"The dodge roll is the first and best way to avoid dying in a gunfight. Sometimes though, the number of bullets and be overwhelming. For instance, there's no dodging through that. But there is a way to clear the path!"

The ghost gestured to a table where two blue bullets lied.

"These are called Blanks. Using one will delete all enemy projectiles in a room and stop enemies from shooting for a short period. They will also push nearby enemies away. Great if you need a second to reposition."

Perhaps a normal person would have asked how to use them, the figure was not one of those people. He stored them in his magical storage realm and knew that they would respond to his command.

"Blank." he ordered to his new resource.

The room was cleared of all bullets, the figure bolted towards the door.

"Excellent, Blanks refill every floor so use them when you need to! They can also be found throughout the Gungeon but I wouldn't rely on that. Onward!"

The two of them walked through the corridor to the next room, the cloaked figure did not really care for the rooms appearance since he knew the Gungeon's rooms liked to change.

"You've got the basics uhm... sir? Ma'am? Whatever, I suppose you've earned a reward. A gun befitting your stature and experience. Go on, open it."

He did not blame the old man for not recognizing his gender, his face was concealed, and his mantel only allowed his boots to be seen. A brown chest appeared out of nothing, he opened it to find a green gun.

 _A... literal pea shooter..._

The Gungeon liked guns despite not understanding human metaphors apparently.

A red symbol appeared on the floor from across the room, a gunshot was heard, and a large living yellow bullet stood there with a revolver in its hand. Its face looked flat despite the conical body and it seemed like it came out of a child's cartoon. It hobbled around, not taking notice of anything.

 _Is this really the basic Gundead? They are not frightening in the least, adorable in fact_

"One of the Gungeon's natural inhabitants... cruel, savage, bloodthirsty. Now... KILL HIM."

The figure laughed until he heard the old man seriously tell him to kill it. As he looked at Manny funnily, he yelled something ridiculous but probably true.

"THE GUNGEON IS NO PLACE FOR COMPASSION!"

 _If it were, then everyone would use that gun everyday_

He shot the Bullet Kin until it died, it didn't even shoot back, it's bland yet adorable eyes became X-s.

"Cold blooded. Truly, you are ruthless. The next rooms will be real gunfights. Kill the enemies in each room, and the doors will open. I'll meet you a few rooms ahead. Now go."

With that said, he vanished.

The figure went into the rooms and did as instructed, not taking a single hit, he encountered a taller and thinner Gundead that was colored red from the eyes up, wielding a shotgun that shot five slow moving bullets that had no space between them until they were further apart.

 _Incredible how the bullets in this place look like the red and white energy spheres…_

He entered a room with a large gap. There was a big black panel in the shape of a square with green holes that glowed, in the center of the room. Ser Manual appeared and explained how one could teleport to them once the room was devoid of enemies.

"The Gungeon allows you to know the rooms you've been to, access this map within your mind and ask to be teleported to this spot."

 _Bah..._

The figure grabbed his wand and murmured a spell for temporary levitation and jumped across the watery pit.

He fell and was transported to the floor again before hitting the water. He felt a great pain in his chest.

"Whoops, need I remind you that you can only take six hits before dying? Falling counts as a hit."

"You didn't mention that. Why didn't my spell work?"  
"The Gungeon does not allow traditional magic. Use the map it has provided you."

That was very worrying, if he couldn't use magic then he wouldn't be able to progress at all, he was a horrible shooter. He gulped as he looked at his pea shooter while it automatically reloaded. He used the Gungeon's magic map to teleport.

"Good, now the next room contains the boss. Good luck."

The boss door was a bullet that looked like a skull, it had eyes that burned with fire. Before entering it, he noticed cracks in the wall to his left. He shot at it, but it wouldn't break. He pondered what would be able to destroy it, and finally he decided to use his last blank. A secret corridor was revealed.

Walking through it carefully, he saw a skeleton with armor and a helmet. A knife was stuck in its back. To his horror, the words 'Here lies Ser Manual' were sketched on the wall.

 _The man teaching me how to survive in the Gungeon... never stepped foot in it?_

Very discomforted at this situation, he walked into the boss room, worried he would die here. Ser Manual was there.

"Are you ready for your final test?"  
He nodded, sweat dripping from his brow, should he ask the ghost about his corpse?

"You will..."

The doors locked.

"...face me in SINGLE COMBAT!"

He pulled out a real physical revolver and began to shoot. The figure was so stunned at the sudden turn of events that he took a bullet to the face. Frantically shooting and running around to avoid the rest, the figure told himself he could do this. Ser Manual made a circle of bullets erupt from his body, the cloaked figure dodge rolled through it and was shot as he had not timed it right. His goal in mind for when he would kill his past came to him. He calmed and then proceeded to shoot accurately.

He had to succeed.

As he mindfully dodged and fired, eventually Manny fell to the ground whining about dying a second time. The figure asked about the body he had found.

Ser Manual got up and recounted of how he and his partner Blockner had come to the Gungeon, seeking glory.

"...then he stabbed me in the back."

The thought of the betrayal made the figure's blood steam.

"Is he still in the Gungeon?"

"Yes, if he had made it to the bottom, I would have felt it."  
"I will avenge you, I swear it on my honor as a Mage!"

With that said, he left the Halls of Knowledge, leaving the pea shooter on the table.


	2. Chapter 2: The Mage

The Hunter looked up as the cloaked figure exited the library; Junior II sat still while the Hunter examined the figure's now exposed head. Dark haired. She couldn't see anything else as he dashed up the stairs, eager to enter the perilous Gungeon. It was nice to see newcomers so positive; the sad part came when their spirit diminished after their first run. Patience was the ultimate requirement for keeping confidence here.

"That idiot is going to get his ass kicked." said the brash, blonde Convict as she lit a cigarette, placing her cards down.

"He seems like a friendly fellow, but appearances can be misleading..." said the Marine, his helmet left behind at his bed, his blue armor seemed to highlight the white scar on his face as he drank a cup of coffee. The Pilot chuckled and laid down five aces.

"Pay your dues, Jumpsuit. Hahaha." The Pilot loved gambling and was one of the few who could seem to smile often in this miserly place, he combed his obnoxiously sketched out hair-do and sat back as the former prisoner cursed wildly, accusing him of cheating.

"Nope, just the kind of luck you see once in a blue moon."

The Marine coughed up three Hegemony Credits, the Convict only gave him one and told him he was lucky she didn't give him a thrashing.

Hunter approached them and sat down to watch the news being told through the Hologram. She clenched her teeth at the mention of an experiment going wrong and killing a bunch of people on a planet she did not recognize. She wasn't fond of science, neither was the Marine it seemed since he went to sit on his bed, looking dejected.

She left the Marine to brood alone as was often the case and thought about who to spend the day with now that the other two were arguing about two credits. Frifle was composing a new song for the hunt with the Grey Mauser; Winchester was leaning against the wall in the corner, looking shady as he counted his money in that dark blue trenchcoat of his; the Ledge Goblin was attaching a chain to her helmet to prevent Trorc from kicking it off into the Gungeon to get her attention, (she would fetch it and get trapped and then Trorc would plead with the Gungeneers to free her and that cycle would continue).

Walking upstairs, she saw the Gunslinger King, his servant Manservantes, and Professor Goopton playing chess. Hunter didn't feel like chatting with the little girl and her giant robot and instead resigned herself to talking to the robot guards.

"Hello Hunter, we cannot let you pass, the young man from before has not cleared the first floor yet."

"I'm here for conversation, what gun was he wielding?"

The Gungeon enhanced a normally weak gun to contain unlimited ammo as a mercy to allow Gungeoneers to always have a fighting chance. It was a fickle entity who played neutral in the conflicts between the Gundead and the Gungeoneers, favoring the latter slightly sometimes.

"He did not have one, though he did receive a book."

The Hunter was shocked, this went against everything she had come to learn about the Gungeon.

"A book...?"

"Yes, for Ammomancy and Gunjuring."

"But the Gungeon has never done that before."

"True, strange indeed. Neither of us think he'll do well though. Time isn't something you have on your hands to cast spells in a gun fight."

The Hunter went back to the table and pondered this new situation. She knew that the Gungeon would still provide guns for the newcomer, but would the book be more powerful? Would he have to learn spells from the enemies in the Gungeon? She was quite curious.

"Hm... can I see the monitor?"

The monitor was used strictly by the guards to determine whether another Gungeoneer could enter; her request was refused. Sighing, she went back to the table.

The Spellcaster kicked a table up as the Gun nut walked towards him, he held his wand up and summoned a small sphere of bullets which he then threw into the enemy's face. His cover had been destroyed and he fired another bullet to defeat the last Bullet Kin in the room.

Panting hard, he opted to take a break. There were four paths, all in different directions. The west path had different doors than the previous ones so after he caught his breath he went in that way.

Rather than a fight, he walked tensely into a shop with beautifully carved wood.

"Oh, still alive? Hm... haven't seen you around before."

The large man at the counter spoke with a gruff voice.

"A shop? Are these shells currency in that case? The Gundead drop them and they float into my pocket."  
"Correct on all accounts. Name's Bello."

"I'll be back later then, might as well clear the floor first."

He was doing fine in his opinion. The Spellbook he carried in one hand had provided him with two basic spells, the 'faster' one was very weak, but the other was even more difficult to perform, much less actually hit something with it; that Gun nut had been the first victim to fall to the second spell. It required too much time waving the wand about and he couldn't fire from behind pillars because then he would aim incorrectly. Luckily, the book shrunk down to a smaller size so that he could keep it in his pocket while the Ammonomicon appeared whenever he summoned it.

 _At least I'm dodge rolling correctly though my back says otherwise…_

He hadn't expected this to be so difficult on floor one.

How on earth was he going to survive? He figured the key that the Gungeon had provided was to open a treasure chest to get a new gun. Maybe that was the way, pray for some incredible weapon that vaporizes everything in its path.

The next room he walked in contained many standard enemies in the center. He charged up the slower spell and felt it sap his strength; he struggled but succeeded at dodge rolling to the side after launching the blizzard of bullets. He ran behind the other wall as bullets were fired his way. He heard the special gunfire, indicating that more enemies had appeared. He charged up a fastball to hit a grenade, causing a chain reaction. He didn't see the one lunge itself at him from behind, with the explosion throwing him right into enemy fire. He scrambled to get on his feet.

Blue Shotgun Kin were stronger than the red ones, they also shot two waves of bullets; he went out of its range but was shot by a brown Bullet Kin wearing an eyepatch who had shot at the spot he had been running to. Dropping to the ground, clutching his stomach, time slowed. A golden spherical watch turned back the clock and shot him dead.

The Marine was throwing Junior's ball to the Hunter when he noticed the newcomer on his bed.

They heard him gasp and get up, only to hit his head due to the bed above him. The Hunter waited for him to approach them at the table and studied his appearance now that he his robes had fallen onto the floor, revealing a slim deep green cloak that went down to his pointy black shoes. Standard jeans and a shirt with a collar. He looked in their direction and the Hunter had a glimpse of a raging storm in his obscure blue eyes. He seemed angry but took a few breaths while clenching his fists before he walked towards them.

"Hello, could one of you kindly explain how I am here? I thought I had just died in the Gungeon."

"Whenever someone dies, the Gun that can Kill the Past shoots said person, thus sending them back to the past, before they even entered the Gungeon." said the muscular man in blue armor while handing the newcomer a bottle of water. A corgi was sleeping nearby.

"How did it go?"

He thanked him and told him about how he was hit with a grenade from behind, launching him into enemy gunfire.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt. What should we call you?"

 _I´d rather not give my true name, right now I am not who I once was._

There were loads of names he could go with since there were many titles for magic users: Mage, Spellcaster, Wizard, Magician, Conjurer, Something-mancer, Enchanter, Sorcerer, Cleric, Summoner, Arcanist, Illusionist, Hexer, Exorcist, etc. It was a difficult decision.

 _Archmage? No, that would be a lie_

He was just a humble mage due to the unfortunate incident that drove him to seek out the Gungeon.

As he was lost in thought, the other two looked at him with a weird look. The purple haired woman spoke to the other man. "You can go on a run before me, I want to speak with the newcomer."

The bulky man nodded and headed up to enter the Gungeon.

"Call me Caster."

"What is your starting weapon?"

"The Gungeon gave me a book as a gift."

The Hunter was very curious, but she understood Caster most likely hadn't tried anything impressive out yet. Should she consider cooperating with him? The Cultist was usually the only one who desperately wanted a partner, but he had mysteriously disappeared in the Gungeon a while back.

"I'm going to the Halls of Knowledge to see if there are any books on advanced magic."  
"Wait, why don't I give you a tour of the Breach? You're going to be here for a while."

She seemed like a solitary person, so he couldn't help but wonder why she was being nice to him.

"That's very kind of you, miss…?"

"Hunter."

Hunter showed him the room with elevators for taking shortcuts but warned him of using them since he'd be stuck with the bare minimum on a difficult floor. Then she took him upstairs into what looked like a shop.

His first question was why a giant hulking robot was behind the table.

"Hello newcomer, I am called Ox. Welcome." It sounded like a normal male human being albeit with a rather bland tone.

"Um... nice to meet you."

"The items for purchase are thrown into the Gungeon for practical use, we also run an inn. Feel free to lounge about and rest during your stay, the restaurant is the left door, my left, your right. Anything you require can be ordered from here so long as you have sufficient Hegemony Credits to pay for it."

Caster was impressed.

"Ox! Have you seen-" a young girl walked up to them and looked at them with a blank face, eyebrows going up in surprise. She wore a purple apron with an orange t-shirt underneath. Her short blue hair framed her intimidating red eyes in a somewhat pretty manner. She blushed, and her mouth formed a thin line. Caster raised his eyebrow at the peculiar display.

"Mistress Cadence, what was your question?"

"Go find my hairbrush, I'll attend to the customers." The giant hulking robot shrunk down in size and retracted its limbs to make them shorter to exit the door. The girl named Cadence walked up to them. She seemed stiff and unsure of what to say.

"Hunter, who's the new guy?"

"This is Caster, I am giving him a tour of the facilities the Breach has to offer."

"Oh, well, newbie, as is tradition you get to stay at the inn for free since it's your first day here."  
Caster was too busy thanking Cadence for the kindness to notice Hunter's stare of disbelief and of suspicion. Since it was getting late (He had distinctly lost track of time during his run in the Gungeon.) Hunter bade him good night. Cadence showed him to his room.

"So, um... Here for that second chance huh?"

"Of course, does anyone come here for any other reason?" he inquired.

"Actually, Frifle and the Mouse boy are here strictly for hunting. Professor Goopten is only here to study stuff and then there's that weird guy who is obsessed with elevators."

"And you are here to make a profit I believe."

"Er... yes... that's why." she said a bit too quickly. Caster decided not to press her for any details and wished her a pleasant night. As she left, he activated the Summoning storage system that the magic users from his planet used to carry their belongings so that he could change into something more comfortable to sleep in.


	3. Chapter 3: The Book

After going through his morning routine, Caster left a note thanking Cadence, he went to speak with Hunter. She was asleep in her tent. Not wanting to wake her up he went to a place where he could sit comfortably and face the grim fate he was left to.

He needed that gun at the end of the Gungeon, but he didn't want to spend the time to go in thousands of times. He could use magic in the Breach, but Caster wasn't sure if whatever he cast beforehand would last if he went in for a run and most of his spells cost mana. His main concern was the fact that everything will surprise him the first time he sees it, then of course he has to kill the new opponent, eventually being brought down by the next.

 _By the looks of it I feel like everyone has been here for ages, there simply must be a way to get through this accursed prison faster! It basically asks of you to be a one-man army... wait._

 _What if I bring an army?_

The Spellcaster resolved to get as many people as he could convince to go with him.

 _And then what? Sit around and have them do all the work while I take the credit? I refuse to stoop so low..._

 _Perhaps just to see the Gungeon's depths, should we succeed I won't take the gun immediately, I'll let the others go first in exchange for learning the Gungeon's patterns. The real problem will lie in convincing them. I can already count the pessimistic drunkard out._

He went up to an interesting looking duo, the taller one was a bulky man carrying a rifle while the smaller man was in a grey mouse costume. If Caster was correct, they were legendary monster hunters.

The best way to get someone interested in a partnership was to act as if you had more to offer than you really had; in this case he would offer magic but pretend he didn't know that it didn't work properly in the Gungeon.

 _That would just get me a bad reputation..._

He refrained from approaching them. He just couldn't muster the courage. He felt hopeless, if these gun wielding pros couldn't manage it, then he might as well give up. No, he didn't want to end up like the Drunkard, if he kept his hope then he could work to find a solution.

 _For now, I am going to see what kind of information I can find in the Halls of Knowledge._

"Wayward Soul! Approach me! Oh, it's just you."

"Greetings, Ser Manual. I am here to read."

"Read? The Gungeon is no place for books, other than the floating ones that try to kill you of course."

"Yes, well books have always given me the answers I've needed to conquer my foes."

"Well, your magic shenanigans won't work in the Gungeon, it has the power to lock or unlock a gun's true potential and it keeps you trapped here until you die." he said in a rather upbeat tone.

 _Well he's already dead so he couldn´t care less I suppose…_

"Sigh... How will I ever best this place? By taking away my only skill it's effectively disabled me of ever achieving victory..."

"Now now, don't be such a pessimist. You'll have plenty of time to get better at shooting."

Caster remained silent and exited the library. To his surprise he bumped into the Hunter.

"Sorry, didn't see you there." He said as she helped him to his feet.

"Would you like to go on a run with me? I must be frank, I am very curious about this book the Gungeon has provided you with."

Caster took a moment to recompose himself before answering.

"To be quite honest, I am overjoyed at the prospect of working together with a veteran, although I must warn you, I am not a good marksman."

The Hunter put a hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly.

"Believe me, the Gungeon makes everyone say that."

The Hunter later thought about that statement as she cleared a difficult room with her rusty sidearm. Caster had done his best to assist her, but his spells were slow when compared to even the worst of guns. They entered a library with some standard Bullet Kin, after they were dealt with, another wave of enemies was shot out. Once the threat was obliterated, Caster opened his Spellbook and noticed new text with strange words. He awkwardly said it out loud and felt his wand quiver.

The Hunter was baffled at his wand.

"It's a pen?"

He waved it in a circular motion and bullets formed around him much like the red Bookllets. He could form all the letter patterns they could. This was faster and better than his standard one bullet and possibly better than the bullet barrage that shot lots of bullets in a straight line.

"Are there more books like that?"

"Yes, there are even magic users here, perhaps if you defeat them, you'll gain additional spells."

This was good news.

 _Why has the Gungeon given me this?_

They continued and eventually found the shop where they bought a key. The following rooms weren't challenging. They found a green treasure chest and Hunter´s pet dog, Junior II started sniffing it and then began to bark. She urged Caster to get back behind the corridor and shushed him. She shot the chest with her sidearm and then shot it with her crossbow as it opened, revealing a nasty tongue and sharp teeth. It pulled out two revolvers and began to rush towards them after it shot out a ghostly bullet. The sight made him want to run away in fear and laugh because of the absurdity of it all.

Caster leaped backwards before charging up an "R" shape of bullets. The mimic was confused at seeing two enemies and shot at the Hunter who dodged it with ease now that they weren't in such a small room. One crossbow arrow plus his spell smashed it into pieces. The Hunter picked up the gun and gave it to him while he checked the Ammonomicon.

"The AK-47, awesome!"

"Save it for later, we've almost cleared the floor."

The other Gungeneers back at the Breach were listening to the radio. They had already played rock paper scissors to determine who would go next and were simply waiting.

"I don't know what's gotten into Hunter. She seems very interested in that newcomer."

"Never thought I'd see a jealous Marine." stated the grinning blonde woman to the Pilot who chuckled.

Frowning, the Marine refrained from commenting since there was no point in arguing with the Convict.

"I'm pretty sure the dude's got some fancy starting items that the she wants to take advantage of." Pilot responded.

"This just in, there is reason to believe that the Bloblulon army's general has hidden himself and is training troops in a remote location. Evidence includes..." the radio volume was turned down to hear the Guards announce that the next Gungeneer could enter shortly. The Pilot went upstairs.

"This is the boss chamber. Are you ready?"

If he were to be perfectly honest with himself, the answer was no. He nodded instead of voicing that, however. The two of them went inside.

Caster was baffled at the large nest in the middle of the room. Then he heard the piercing cry of a bird as something large swooped down to quickly snatch the large machine gun that had been lying on the ground. Landing on its talons. A giant purple bird glared at them as it held the gigantic weapon. It screeched and flexed, shedding its feathers to reveal a very muscular body while a robotic voice from the walls proclaimed:

"Rapid fire raptor, the Gatling Gull versus the Hunter and the Spellcaster!"

Caster was hit because he was too stunned to move. The Gull's weapon just continuously fired multiple fast projectiles as he advanced towards him, one of which hit him.

"Blank!"

Using the few brief moments of peace, he ran as far away as possible and as shots were fired again, he kicked a table and leaped backwards. Caster began to conjure up gunfire. The Hunter had already shot at the Gull and was out of his range, thinking herself to be safe. The menace jumped up high and landed in front of her, pelting her with bullets. She blanked, and the bird flew up high, landing in the corner of the room. To Caster's disgust, the raven began to regurgitate missiles that were heading towards them and their surroundings. They stopped shooting to dodge roll away from the explosives.

As the last few missiles landed, both sides resumed fire.

The Gull focused on the Hunter this time, who sidestepped the stream of hurt. Her crossbow killed him, all the bullets vanished and as he fell, a bunch of crows, ravens, and even a vulture came and devoured his corpse.

Caster shivered. Hunter picked up the two Hegemony Credits and gave them to him.

"Why me? You did much better in the fight than I did."  
"I can get farther more often than you, so I get more Hegemony Credits, you will most likely die before I do so just take these as a little pity gift."

The Gungeon rewarded them with ammunition, a key (reminding Caster of the Hunter's advice of never opening a brown chest when there is a better option available.) and a gun.

"This is the Void Marshal. Anything with 'Void' in the title is good, remember that." She gave it to him, assuring him that her crossbow would suffice for the next floor.

"Use any remaining blanks in rooms where there are cracks in the walls, you may find a secret room that contains additional resources." She blanked in the room with the Bullet elevator and found nothing so the two descended.

"Welcome to Gungeon Proper, here's where things get harder, watch your step."

Upon entering the first few rooms, Caster immediately noticed the gaps in the floor, the sharp gears that spun across the walls, the spikes, fire, and all kinds of new enemies.

King Bullat were tricky since their shots bounced, but by far it was the Lead Maiden that took out a large chunk of his health with its durable metal body. Cubulons also proved to be a threat, especially when accompanied by Veteran Shotgun Kin.

The shop sold red bullet pills, which provided health, killed pain, and allowed one to take more hits. Bello was also selling blanks. Hunter urged him to buy health.

"The longer you survive, the more knowledge you'll gain."

That convinced him.

He tried his best not to fall in any pits and not to get hit by spike traps or fire bursting tiles. It was the Hunter who carried him through these difficult rooms. They found a brown chest that the Hunter promptly destroyed. They teleported and went down a different corridor, finding the boss chamber, then detoured and went down one more path with an easy room, revealing a blue chest. Inside was a beehive.

"Is that safe?"

"Yes, here, use it for the boss room, the bees will lock onto whatever we're fighting, focus on not getting hit."

Caster didn't like insects, but the bees were peaceful. They were about to go fight the strongest opponent on this floor when Caster noticed one door they hadn't gone through. A mirror stood, in its reflection was a green chest.

"If you open it, the mirror will break, and you'll bring upon the curse of the Jammed."

"The Jammed?"

"The Jammed are cursed enemies whose bullets are empowered with the wrath of the goddess Kaliber. I would still open it if I were you, we've only got one key left and it's for the next floor. Hand me the AK-47, I'm out of crossbow bolts."

The treasure chest contained a fire ball. Caster stared at it bewildered. He picked it up and it burned just like regular elemental magic on his left hand. His Spellbook made a noise, it opened to show him the spell for crafting the flaming hand.

 _This seems overpowered. Who am I to complain?_

Using the panel system that the Gungeon provided, he switched back to the beehive as they stood before the imposing door.

A golden serpent the size of a Basilisk with flashing red eye slits slithered in a circle.

"Shelled Serpent, The Ammoconda VS the Hunter and the Spellcaster!" Boomed the voice that couldn't be seen. He shook the beehive and the stingers flew towards the beast, whose mechanical limbs fired independently. He started dodge rolling out of panic.

"No! You have to watch the patterns!"

 _Easy for her to say_

He wasn't faring well, each segment of that accursed snake fired different waves of projectiles: lines of bullets that did a 90-degree spin, lines that slithered much like the serpent itself, a wall of bullets that moved, paused, then continued moving. Clearly the laws of physics were not to be trusted.

Caster was shot in the back and whirled around to see a segment with a comical face that had sprouted from the straw floor and acted as a turret. The Ammoconda came up to it and ate it, startling the living daylights out of him, it fired twice as fast and charged him. His last-minute Blank did nothing to prevent him from getting headbutted. Again, time slowed, and he was shot by the golden gun.


	4. Chapter 4: The Convict

He reawakened once more, though this time it was before the entrance to the Gungeon. Pushing himself off the ground. He saw the Hunter also appear in her open tent.

 _I should apologize for my incompetence_

She silenced him by waving her hand.

"I expected a rookie, not a veteran."

"I want to thank you for helping me past floor one."

"Don't thank me for that, you need to get past it alone, perhaps we will be allies in the future but for now I feel it's best you learn how the enemies think on your own time."  
He felt shame at his inferior skills.

"Cheer up, we can get some food and try again tomorrow, separately. You'll need to get up early if you want to go first, the only other option being waiting your turn."

He said nothing. Her dog barked and ran towards the front entrance. A large crate appeared. The burly black man in blue armor from before brought it towards them. He gave the Hunter a capsule and took a capsule for himself, throwing it on his bed. He made a round, passing out these capsules to the other Gungeneers.

Puzzled, Caster asked the Hunter what they were.

"Minimum food and drink are provided by the Hegemony of Man, you'll have to register with them by talking to Ox."

"I'll do that now... wait, is this a daily delivery?"

She nodded. Caster released a breath of relief. He would only have to go without sustenance for one day.

The Convict was awaiting the Pilot's demise in the inn lobby. Though he had assured her that this run would be "the one" now that he had extra motivation (avoiding her), she had chuckled, knowing that he would fail miserably like usual.

 _What an idiot, refusing to let go of that weird, stupid 'Rogue Special' of his. Damn thing can't even fire straight._

The newcomer caught her attention. He was talking to Ox about food. That stuck up brat, Cadence, offered him a free meal, claiming it was tradition. The Convict knew what her game was.

"Tradition!? You didn't offer the rest of us squat." she yelled from across the room as she lit up a cigarette. Cadence glared at her, red with anger and embarrassment. She ordered Ox to prepare a meal for the newcomer and stormed off.

The previously cloaked man had a handsome face, though he was nothing special in the Convict's eyes. He approached her, carefully studying her appearance.

 _Yeah yeah, I'm in an orange jumpsuit with no shoes, there are weirder people here!_

"Quit staring. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that I'm a criminal."

He held out his hand. She arched her eyebrow and decided to humor him by shaking it.

"I am Caster, and I offer a deal."

The Convict smirked.

 _He knows how to speak my language aha_

"I offer you my spells in exchange for your schedule, to be frank, let me assist you in combat."

"What's in it for you? I've experience with criminal masterminds, you can't fool me. You're just a support Mage, aren't you? Can't do nothing on your own with your weak 'buffs', well I ain't stupid, I know you'll betray me, take the gun and be on your merry way if we made it to the Forge."

"I cannot prove my honesty. But if you believe that, then, I'll take that as a firm 'no'."

"No need to be so polite. Maybe I was being hasty. Offer up your meal and then we can talk."  
"There are other Gungeoneers here who won't haggle, I'd rather take my offer elsewhere."  
"Fine, I'll let you come along free of charge, I gotta admit I'm curious what ridiculous magics the Gungeon lets you pull off, no offense to magic, it's just that... the Gungeon is a real crazy entity."

She dabbed ashes off her cigarette as Caster's meal was delivered.

"Thank you, Ox, I appreciate this."

Ox said nothing and walked away.

"Polite to a robot, now I've seen it all. Tell you what, tomorrow after lunch we'll head out. Gotta go, my one-night stand is here."

She bolted, a tall man with an outlandish hairdo in tow.

 _I don't trust that woman._

Caster wasn't one for prejudice, especially in a place like this where desperate people come in all shapes and sizes, but a convict not being trustworthy was a no-brainer in his mind. Despite the Hunter wanting him to go at it alone, Caster saw teaming up with others to be the better solution. He wasn't really upset at the Convict calling him a White Mage, since in the Hierarchy of Magic, Medics and Supporters were beloved by all.

 _What type of magic_ do _I want to learn?_

He had only been taught a handful of generic spells that were for the most part utilitarian. His training had been about him unlocking hismagical potential. Then...

 _Forget about it. Once you have that gun in your hand, you'll be able to change what happened._

He ate the spaghetti and left. It wasn't late, but he was exhausted. He accessed his magical storage and took out his emergency tent, deciding to rest for the night.

The next day, Caster read this new book and decided to craft the Flame Hand on his next run.

"Alben Smallbore, enthralled with the variety of guns he found in the Gungeon, created this spell. Upon casting, the wielder's hand bursts into flame, allowing fireballs to be thrown like bullets."

Muttering the spell to himself, he spent the morning trying to fabricate the 'gun' to no avail. He was exceedingly salty because he could not figure out why it didn't work. Then he slapped himself on the forehead.

 _I'm in the Breach! Dammit._

He put the book in his storage and stormed out of his tent. To tell the truth he was nervous. That prisoner was intimidating. Fortunately, she wasn't in sight. He checked his watch. He had loads of time to spare so he began to write in his log.

 _Day three..._

He got lost in his own head, typing things down on a whim. Naturally, this ended up with an angry blond woman pulling him out of his tent.

"Quit writing your feelings down, you sissy! We've got killing to do."

"I didn't catch your name."

"I'm the Convict, now get up and come on!"

She dragged him into the Gungeon. She was hot blooded like the streak of red hair suggested. She ignored him for the most part, firing wildly with her two guns, she had horrible accuracy. She did occasionally complain about his slower approach to things. Caster used his standard spells. By the time they reached a red treasure chest, he was panting.

 _For someone barefoot, she sure is fast._

She grinned and attempted to open the chest. It opened up before she used the key and bit her in the face. She went red with fury and began shooting the mimic. Caster backed away once it saw that this one had two giant rotating guns in his maw. The room was filled with bullets. She threw a molotov cocktail and Caster heard her swearing. He fired a storm and missed. The monster died anyway because of the fire. When the flames died down, a small cannon was made visible.

"Sweet, the serious cannon is awesome."

She took no time whatsoever to explain anything, she took the gun and continued, Caster found out that the bouncing cannonballs went right through him, after almost getting a heart attack of course. They went to the shop and the Convict bought armor instead of a key.

"Only one chest contains a weapon, I don't care about items, all I need is a way to kill Gundead. C'mon, let's go give that boss a visit."

 _But what about the next floor?_

As they entered the boss room, Caster prepared himself for the Gull. However, its nest was nowhere to be found. Instead, two red cursors appeared on the floor and a gun firing two shots was heard. Two large Gundead stood, the same shape as standard Bullet Kin, only these looked different. The one on the left had sunglasses and a red revolver, the only had an innocent, shining smile and a gray revolver.

"Double Tap Trigger Twins Vs the Convict and the Spellcaster!"

Caster assumed it would be a fair fight until they whistled, and four regular Bullet Kin spawned. The Convict strafed and spammed, and Caster mostly dodged since he doubted, he could do more damage than a cannon. The one with shades fell, his eyewear breaking upon impact. The other one went red and with tears in its eyes, it began firing at twice the speed. They used up their blanks and defeated him without trouble.

"Next up, Gungeon Proper!" she said as she picked up a strange trophy looking thing, and a wind-up gun.

Meanwhile, in the Breach, the Pilot was playing monopoly with the Marine and the Hunter, his usual charming demeanor gone.

"I mean, it's not like there was any commitment or anything but a little nicety doesn't hurt you know!"

The Hunter rolled her eyes.

"Can't we take a breather? What are you? Fueled by hatred or something? Don't you breathe?" Caster panted. The Convict glared at him and reluctantly stopped her charge.

"By the way, yes. I am fueled by hatred. I don't slow down until I reach the third floor. I can't wait to get payback... once I get that gun..."

Caster acquired more spells from the Booklet enemies they encountered. The shop had no keys for sale and the Convict doubted the Gungeon would give them one for clearing random rooms. So instead, they bought an extra blank. Caster was not liking her style. Luckily, they were in poor shape, the Ammoconda quickly dispatched them. Caster woke up, exhausted.

 _I don't want to spend more time with that madwoman._


	5. Chapter 5: Soldiering on

Chapter 5 Soldiering on

The next day, Caster was awoken up early by the Marine.

"Zzzsswhat...?"

"I said, would you like to go on a run with me."

"Yeszzz..."

The Marine snapped his fingers and Caster shook his head, following the former Hegemony soldier into the Gungeon. The Marine was an efficient fighter, using the bare minimum to defeat his enemies, he told Caster he always conserved ammunition despite having a walkie talkie that would get him an ammo crate. He was a man of few words. The first floor was trivial. The Gungeon did not help them with any special drops, they bought a spare key and opened both chests, receiving a Rubedyne Prototype, and a heart of ice, the Marine let him have the gun in exchange for the passive. After reading what it did and observing the strong stoic man a bit closer, Caster concluded that he suffered from a lack of confidence. He didn't understand why since the Marine was a fantastic shot, an excellent dodge roller and flipped tables with great timing. As they defeated the Gull, Caster saw the strange trophy from his previous run.

"What is that?"  
"A reward the Gungeon bestows upon those who defeat their opponents and emerge unscathed, the Master Round is an extra heart."

Caster pocketed the key, filled up on ammo and let the Marine have the sticky crossbow and the trophy. Caster was starting to feel at ease on the second floor as well. Though the Marine might not seem like it, he was an excellent leader and a good tactician. The two of them breezed through rooms. The Gorgun was a piece of cake compared to the Ammoconda. They were rewarded with two keys, a half heart that Caster needed, and a honey comb which Caster took. They went back to the treasure chests and opened the blue one.

"The Glacier is a great defensive weapon. You take it, save it for the next floor's boss."  
"Have you ever made it past floor three?"  
"A couple of times, it´s the Forge that always gets me in the end." He said as he called in his ammo drop.

They shot the brown chest, getting junk out of it and continued their merry way.

Cadence was busy lazing around when Ox came in to give her a letter. She read it with one eye.

 _Dearest Sister,_

 _I recently began tampering with the magical weapons that my former master left, and after interrogating some of the Forge Bullet Kin, I've made an alarming discovery. He may still be around here, lurking. Though this Master they speak of could very well just be their Goddess Kaliber..._

 _On an unrelated note, I've made a new arm for Ox. I don't want you coming down here again, the Bullet Kin may tolerate my presence, but they will capture you again should you enter the Gungeon, send Frifle and his companion or some other competent Gungeoneer down here to retrieve it. Life in the Forge hasn't changed._

 _Sometimes I wonder why you remain in this accursed place and one day your desire to be rich won´t be a satisfactory answer. Are you still dreaming of a prince in shining armor to appear and sweep you off your feet? Princes don´t come here, unless you´re looking for the vengeful kind._

 _How are you? I hope you aren't mistreating Ox, he may very well one day rewire his programming and kill you or escape._

 _Love,_

 _Your sister_

After having completed the whole floor, the Marine looked at their map a second time.

"Am I seeing double? There are two boss symbols yet only one boss door."

Suddenly Caster remembered Ser Manual's murderer, Blockner.

 _Could he be on this floor? I must find out._

"Marine, here, take my items and head over to the boss. I know I'm not in charge, but this is a personal matter I need to attend to."  
"But..."

"But nothing, you're an extremely capable marksman, all you need is a bit of confidence and you'll steamroll through this place."

He kept one blank.  
"You really think so?"

Looking into his nervous face, Caster grinned and assured him, victory was imminent. As they teleported in different directions, the mage made his way over to a red armored man with a giant helmet that cast his entire face in shadow save for his eyes. A sword emblem was visible on the helmet.

"Guards! Oh. Wait. It's another 'Gungeoneer. Hail friend and well met! What brings you to this gun-dungeon?"

"You know why I'm here." Caster said with an expression of stone.

"Eh... I'm not quite certain what you mean! You must be here to kill your past, right?"

"Manny says 'hi'"

"Ah. I see. You understand I won't just roll over, right?"

Caster nodded, having seen a couple of duels before.

"Well then... look out behind you!"

Caster whirled around and crafted the Flame hand before realizing Blockner had run off towards two Gun Nuts. Caster walked towards him. The traitor pulled out a red gun that had the same emblem as his helmet.

"It seems my past has caught up with me. Time to Kill it!"

Betrayal was unforgivable in the spellcaster's book.

Fire and bullets were shot, Blockner ran towards Caster who dodge rolled to the side. He kept an eye out for the bodyguards in the back, leading to getting decimated by the enemy´s barrage of arrow-bullet waves. They were astonishingly like the Gun Nut's standard attack. Caster was quickly overwhelmed by the three of them cornering him, so he blanked and bolted to the other side of the room. Catching his breath and feeling the wild song of war overcome him, he unleashed a wave of fire.

"Hahaha, I knew Manny's whole 'dodge roll' idea was stupid, blocking is infinitely better!"

Caster snarled and rolled successfully through the three attacks, retaliating with the spell he learned from the Booklets, he formed the letter R and launched the bullets at one of the guards, killing him. Blockner stomped the ground, bullets flying all over with a string of them heading towards the mage.

The fight was a blur of motion, Caster was on his last legs but finally the remaining guard had burned to a crisp, leaving it a fair fight, Blockner was a relentless fighter with lots of stamina.

"This ought to do the trick..." he muttered to himself as he strafed. Bullets in the form of an N hit Blockner square in the face.

"Let me return the favor!"

The Spellcaster was thrown towards the wall as the arrow-bullets pierced him.

 _Very little life left. Perhaps another tactic..._

Caster spammed fire and went closer to Blockner, dodge rolling perfectly and jammed his fist into his face. The red knight fell to the floor, Caster conjured up another R and fired point blank.

"Aw nuts." A ghost appeared.

 _Why didn't he resurrect?_

"Bested by a disciple of Manny... humiliating! I guess there really was something to that 'dodge roll' he was always on about. What I don't understand is why the bullets don't hit you. It really looks like they should. I guess... I'll head back to the Breach." he said before vanishing.

Caster walked away and saw that the Gungeon had rewarded him with enough health to make a full recovery and he received a witch pistol for his troubles, it recorded itself in his spellbook.

He noticed that the Marine had also defeated the boss, so he sought him out.

"Did you get another Master round?" he nodded.

"Alright, let's go."

Cadence tapped her fingers on the desk as the Pilot considered what to buy. She hadn't been herself lately, ever since that handsome magician had arrived, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Unfortunately, she was far too young for him. She sighed.

The letter her sister had sent was giving her goosebumps. The Gungeon Master alive? A scary thought indeed...

"Hey Frifle! This seems like it would be useful." He exclaimed.  
"Just buy it already! The Hunt is growing impatient!"

"You're teaming up with those two?" asked Cadence.

"Yeah, they're hunting Blobulord, who's rumored to be here. My trusty lockpicks save them the keys needed to get into the Oubliette."

"Don't those have a chance to break the lock rather than unlock it?"

He looked at her sheepishly, wanting to change the subject.

"So, I saw you making eyes at that mage dude. What's going on with him?" He said with his charming grin, the one that makes you want to punch his smug face.

"None of your business!" she exclaimed after taking his credits and telling Ox to throw the Gun into the Gungeon.

"Ya know, you could get him a book from the Halls of Knowledge, start a conversation that way, I've been keeping an eye on him when he sits around the Breach. He... seems to be a bit childish given the games he plays."  
Cadence arched her eyebrow.

"I know there are adults that play Pokemon, but when I asked him about things from my time, he had no clue what I was talking about. Makes me wonder if he could alter his appearance with magic." He winked.

"But what do I know? I'm sure it's nothing. See ya!"

Cadence sat down, deep in thought.

The Hollow was killing him. Caster was on his last legs. The Marine was doing better by a long shot. He advised Caster to stay behind cover and fire spells from there. He had taken lots of damage because he insisted on using his new move, taught to him by a red Gunjuror. He would stand in place and catch enemy gunfire to shoot them back at them, unfortunately he didn´t have the timing right. He could also make a homing bullet and a bullet that fired other bullets, this along with the Bullet Blizzard he had learned from the blue Gunjuror and the geometrical shapes he had learned from the yellow one and the letters he learned from the new Booklets meant that he was now in theory, a deadly Ammomancer. It also meant he was a sitting duck most of the time.

"Just use the pistol, it can transmogrify enemies. It's better than being a sitting target."

But Caster wanted to clear rooms quickly. He wanted the Marine to succeed, even if it meant him dying, that's why he only had the witch pistol, his spellbook and his wand. The rest of their stuff was in the Marine's arsenal. They were out of keys. The shop also had none in stock. The Marine wanted to buy him health pills, but Caster refused and forced the Marine to buy blanks instead.

"This is your run. You've got the weaponry, the skills and the dedication. You just need the confidence! Believe in your abilities."

The Marine stayed silent, brooding even.

Caster perished when they entered a room that had no cover.


	6. Chapter 6: The Date

Chapter 6 The date

As he reappeared in the same spot as usual, he noticed something curious, the Marine´s stuff had vanished.

 _Does this mean…?_

The Hunter approached him and nodded.

"It seems like the Marine has succeeded, I always figured he´d be the first of our lot to do so."

"So, it´s like he never came here?"

She nodded, a sad tear falling from her eye. She returned to her table to pet her dog. Caster saw the ghosts of Ser Manual and Blockner bickering. Manny thanked him.

"Anytime."  
In his tent, there was a note from Cadence asking him if he would like to dine with her.

 _Why not?_

He went to use the public showers which were almost always empty it seemed. He put on something nice to wear and enhanced his appearance using some spare arcanite he had left over. Arcanite was a fuel from his planet for rapid casting and was the only commodity he allowed himself to purchase, forgoing even fizzy drinks. His storage allowed him to haul most of what he had owned back before the incident, unlike others who clearly had only the clothes on their backs and food. Really all he purchased was food, water and arcanite and that basically ate up his funds.

Back on his planet he hadn´t been a real hit with the girls, but hey, this one didn´t know any of his terrible punchlines.

 _Probably she just likes my air of mystery…_

He could also just be kidding himself.

Donning a dashing cape fabricated by none other than his past self, Caster strode to the restaurant with an unusual confidence. He sat down at the candlelit table where Cadence was sitting. She looked fancy with a purple dress with frills, her blue eyes scrutinizing him suspiciously.

 _Have I done something wrong already?_

He took a seat, Ox was wearing a comically tiny bowtie and held a platter of Italian bread. Spaghetti and meatballs were already warm on the table for the two of them. Caster could have sworn he had seen this in a movie.

"Evenin´"

She smiled. They begin to swap small talk and eat. He did his best to do so without staining anything. He made a joke, she laughed, he was somewhat confident it was real. Everything proceeding smoothly. Ox came with a bottle of champagne. She´s either old enough to drink or uncaring, then again, he technically was a fresh drinker…

"I have a gift for you."

Yeah maybe dates aren´t so bad.

Then she doused him with the champagne.

He screeched a girly scream as his makeup came undone.

"Veritassium Incantum!? Where did you get that?!" He cried as he shrunk two whole inches in height. His hair went from black to the snow white it was originally. The tribal tattoos underneath his eyes were revealed as well as the ones on his left arm and left palm. His eyes turned poisonous colored green. The liquid had dissolved and uncast his spell, leaving his unenchanted self.

"I bought it, dummy."

"WHY? How did you-?"

"The Pilot tipped me off concerning your age, and obviously most mages use cosmetic magic, I noticed how your image didn´t reflect well on the mirror pan in front of us and voila. I didn´t expect such a drastic change…"

"There goes the monthly arcanite supply…" he muttered.

"Rhombus tattoos?" she giggled.

He blushed, indignant at the sudden turn of events and sheepishly admitted that he thought they would make him look intimidating.

"More like edgy!"

He stood up and stormed out, covering himself with his hood. Outside was every single Gungeoneer minus the Drunkard, Cadence pulled his hood back as the people laughed. The Hunter frowned and scurried towards him, shoving Cadence off and offering her dry cloak. He felt humiliated, yet thankful that she was walking with him back to his tent. No tears were shed, as he had been taught that they were a sign of weakness, instead he held them back with a hollow feeling of distance. The laughter died down.

"Cadence is a real bitch, the only company that tolerates her is that robot, and he´s programmed to like her."

Caster heard her but said nothing.

"Hey, this is a dreary place, the people laugh because they want to lighten up, it´s nothing personal."

Again, silence was his response.

"Kid say something."

"Thank you for standing by me, I´m going to bed."

After handing her the cloak back he sealed his tent shut and cast a sleeping spell on himself.


	7. Chapter 7 The Pilot

Chapter 7 The Pilot

After a dreamless sleep, Caster woke up and opened his tent before remembering last night´s events and groaning.

"Hey kid, I wanna tell ya, I had nothing to do with Crazy Cadence´s plan."

 _That pilot has a smooth punchable face…_

"To make it up to you, I´ll take you under my wing for today´s Gungeon run!"

Caster scrapped his plan of revenge for this free shot.

The Pilot had the worst weapon ever, it was a discarded mini engine that shot to the left and right and sometimes even straight. His so called "trusty" lockpicks sometimes made it impossible to open chests. He did manage to charm Bello into selling him stuff for lower prices but overall, Caster felt like he was carrying the run with his advanced spells. In fact, he felt super on his game, making mincemeat out of Bullet Kin left and right.

They even rescued a tall lady from Gungeon Proper, though she had refused to talk to them directly, she had informed them through her guards that she was a sorceress, so Caster was very excited to meet her, only if he failed that is.

In the Blackpowder Mines, their luck turned around upon when they found a rainbow chest containing a whopping 8 items, one of which was a black hole gun which helped make the run a cakewalk. The Hollow proved to be trivial with their arsenal. The Pilot was so excited he shut up and focused. After reaching the boss chamber, the Pilot proposed to take a break from all the running and catch their breath.

"Luckily for newbies such as yourself, most of the grunt work was done by us."

"What do you mean?"

"The first one to reach the Forge met with the Blacksmitch who made the Gun, she told him that she needed to forge more bullets for it and that the materials were scattered across the Gungeon, we worked together to gather them all and now everything is set to go to the Past. At least, if anyone could make it past the Forge and find the Blacksmith, wish I knew how the Marine had done it and what monster he had to face down in that hellhole…"

Inside of the boss room was a cloaked figure with a single pistol sticking out of its blood red hood. The Pilot gulped.

"The High Priest."

It screeched, and bullets went flying out of its arms. Caster felt the urge to take cover only there was no cover to be found.

Meanwhile, back in the Breach, the Hunter was glaring at Cadence who was lying down and being fanned by Ox. She yawned to look even more mocking.

"You know why I´m here."

Cadence stopped smirking.

"Why are you so protective of that weirdo?"

An idea occurred to her and she slyly glanced at the Hunter.

"Oh, I see. You liiiiiike him, don´t you."

Without missing a beat or changing expression, the Hunter shook her head as she hopped over the counter.

"It´s called friendship, not that you would know what that is." Laughing even.

The shop owner flushed and balled her fists.

The Hunter looked at the room, at the shelves full of items to purchase, countless amounts of strange items and even stranger guns lying about on display. For the first time, she wondered just what reasons Cadence had for staying here other than cash and her sister. She discovered a letter shoved in-between item stacks that had beautiful handwriting on it and speedread it. Cadence growled about privacy and lunged forward to get it, naturally the Hunter reflexively sidestepped her.

"Your sister doesn´t want you to stay here, yet you´re waiting for some silly prince. Makes me giggle, on the inside."  
"Shut up!"

"Caster sure isn´t a prince, but that was a very cruel prank to pull."

"Well he lied to me! With his stupid fake appearance!" Crossing her arms like a spoiled child only proved the Hunter´s thoughts more.

"Selfish views indeed. Did it ever occur to you that he does that for himself? Or are you just plain stupid? You put on makeup! Altering one's appearance his way is just a step further." She turned around and left, saying that Cadence was a waste of her time, leaving the girl to frustratingly read a magazine.

Throwing rapid fire cursed flames at the High Priest, Caster felt a personal hatred for the thing as it had reminded him of his past. Determined to kill it, he growled as it vanished once more and proceeded to take pot shots at them. It reappeared and died to the Pilot´s Rubedyne Prototype. The two of them were breathing heavily. Caster noticed an update in his book of spells but kept it a secret as he couldn´t believe what he had read.

 _The spells of the High Priest…? No, surely, I wouldn´t be allowed to get away with having those, I must be seeing things…_

Neither of them wanted to say anything as they rode the elevator to the Forge.

It was hell, sweat from the heat made his hands slippery and the goddamn hammers that would appear and burst fire were annoying to deal with, the enemies were craftier and there were more of them. The usual routine, opening chests, surviving rooms, complaining about the dearth of ammo, finding the boss room.

Neither of them knew what was waiting for them.

Neither of them knew what would happen afterwards, as there was only one Gun that could Kill the Past.

Neither of them wanted to say that aloud.

 _If he doesn´t die during this fight, I will let him have the Gun, I´m confident I can make it to this point again, he´s been cooped in here far longer than I have._

There was nothing in the room but a pit of fire. A large mechanical hand clawed its way up from the fiery abyss, then another. A maw and wings came up afterwards. The dragon roared and the two of them released their breath.

"Ancient and venerable. The High Dragun."

 _Dragun? For rea-? You know what, I´m not even going to question it._

It breathed bullets. They scattered. It threw enormous daggers onto the walls that actually SHOT at them. They were quickly overwhelmed because they had to shoot the daggers, Pilot blanked the bullets being fanned from the beast´s wings and switched to the stinger while Caster pulled out the blooper. It was a long fight. It pulled out an enormous grenade launcher that demanded very precise dodging. Then it pulled out two more guns and began firing arcs.

Intense was the only way to accurately describe the fight.

It turned grey and roared as lava began to seep from its pores. It roared and with its wings, blew a blizzard of bullets towards them with the smallest of gaps. Dodge rolling was essential indeed. The drake´s heart was revealed to them, and they blasted it with everything they had. Caster even murmured a curse onto it and the Gungeon may have allowed it to work as the Dragun bit the dust, exploding. Its spine fell and formed a bridge to the next room. No reward spawned. The Pilot shot its head and collected a weird purple casing.

"The last ingredient… I´m so close to victory."

 _So close to victory…_

The Pilot had a mad hunger look in his eyes as he clutched his void marshal and the casing to his chest and looked at Caster, pointing the gun at him.

"I can´t live with the guilt and I can´t wait anymore."

Caster threw his arms up and dropped his weapon.

"I was going to let you keep it anyways, figured it was fair."

The Pilot lowered his weapon a bit and looked sheepish.

"Sorry about the scare, don´t know what came over me there."

Caster looked the Pilot and kept a stoic face as he thought about how little he actually knew this smug-faced Flash Gordan who had ruined his street cred and his date and thought about his own Past.

He quick swapped to his witch pistol and fired, but the Pilot had anticipated the move and gotten out of the way. He looked enraged and pulled out the stinger as the room closed and the announcer´s voice boomed.

"The Pilot Vs the Spellcaster!"

Caster was furious and held his hand to the sky, tracing the letter "N" and firing. Sidestepping and retaliating with a missile filled with bees, Caster aggressively swatted them away from him after rolling away from the explosion.

The ground shook, breaking their balance. Caster´s weapons and items were removed and given to the Pilot. He pulled out his wand and his book.

 _The Gungeon is no place for compassion indeed._

Caster knew he couldn´t defeat the Pilot without any weapons and his spells were easy to dodge for

someone as experience as him, so he went for the old-fashioned way of fighting. Rolling through the second missile and dreading the inevitable bee assault that came with it, he sprinted and wrestled the stinger out of the Pilot´s hands, the casing dropping as the two struggled with the gun as the bees harassed Caster who wouldn´t relent. He kneed the man in the balls and got the launcher in his grasp. The Gungeon made it vanish yet again as the Pilot pulled out the Blooper. Before he could shoot with that deadly shotgun, Caster kicked him in the face, hard, shattering his nose before unleashing a storm of bullets from his hand like the High Priest.

The Pilot got over his bewilderment and shot, missing as Caster used the enhanced dash of the Priest to maneuver behind the Pilot who rolled through the cavalcade of bullet waves appearing in the corners as Caster vanished. When he reappeared, he conjured up a barrier and some flying skulls, the Pilot got hit due to the smaller room he was in not giving him enough space.

"You traitor! Die already!"

Caster used the High Priest´s ghostly sprint to dash forward and knock the Pilot square in the jaw, flooring him again. Caster stomped on his neck and almost demonically ignored his wounds as he lifted his beaten-up body, dizzy from the hit to the noggin, arms flailing about, and tossed him into the fire.

The Gun appeared and shot the Pilot back in time.

 _I just killed a man. He´s not dead, but if this had happened outside of the Gungeon, his corpse would be melting._

 _Am… I a monster?_

 _No. No. NO._

 _That bastard got what he deserved. The Gun is mine! I must find the Blacksmith._

Rooms were a cakewalk with the High Priest´s abilities. He walked inside and immediately noticed that

the Blacksmith was not only a beautiful woman, but that she must have been related to Cadence somehow because they shared such a close resemblance. She was working on a gun and didn´t even look at him as he approached, wondering how she could sleep in the bed nearby with this heat.

"You must be here for the Bullet, have you slain the Dragun?"

He nodded, dumbstruck and handed the casing over. She quickly worked on a strange glowing bullet in the span of a couple of seconds and handed it over.

"Good luck." Droning on her current project, she said nothing more and acted as if he weren´t here.

Caster stood in the room and saw the treasure chest up ahead, he didn´t pay attention to the weird, massive, floating bullets around him and ran up single-mindedly to the gun. Opening the chest, his thoughts froze in visible confusion.

The Gun that can Kill the Past was a basic revolver, with a hinge that pointed at the person shooting it.

Caster pursed his lips and decided not to comment while he reloaded it. He aimed forward and the golden crosshair that appeared whenever a Gungeoneer died was now under his command. He charged up and watched the clock turn counterclockwise.

He shot.


	8. Chapter 8: The Examiner

Chapter 8 The Examiner

Now in his old drab attire, Caster, stood in a dark corridor before the moment. A mere student in the Greyhorn citadel. Having studied all his life to achieve his dream of joining the brotherhood of Daedolon, the ancient protectors of the lands. He was once again in the deadly Ziggurat. Brandishing staves and wands. He walked in, before him stood Examiner Cepheus, Judge, Jury and Jester with his unnerving white mask that always smiled with the expression of a psychotic killer. He was armed his sword and staff, not to mention his ram-like horns.

Rushing forward with powerful single target spells, Caster began to strafe and dodge roll, while using his area of effect wave staff to fend off the hordes when summoned. The duel was no different from before and he was having no trouble as he managed to blast the Examiner´s weapons out of his hands, leaving him at Caster´s mercy.

He offered the scroll and began to speak, but Caster smacked him across the head, looking stern.

"That spell is a trick. One that ridicules me and sends me to a distant planet. Give me the real scroll or I´m busting out of this fortress with your head to hang on my mantle!" He stated stoically while holding Cepheus´ own sword to his throat.

The Examiner burned the current scroll and pulled out another, with the same colors as the cloaks of the brotherhood.

"How can I trust you after being deceived the last time I was here?"

"Open a book for me."

He used levitation to pull it upwards, ever wary of releasing his grip on the sword.

"This spell that I´ve written here is Ultimate Teleportation. It can get you anywhere you´ve been before, if you don´t believe me…"

He used it before Caster could swing at him, fearing a trick, the Examiner did indeed teleport to the exit, still holding the scroll.

"Arc Darunith of Greyhorn, you have demonstrated not only your magic potential, but good instincts."

He flinched at hearing his true name after such a long time.

Arc took the scroll and kept the weapon by him, and he walked away, ever weary of a sneak attack. Nothing happened other than his return to the Council members. The mere fact that he was alive was already cause for the others to applaud. Arc cleared his throat and read the enchanted syllables on the new scroll to legitimize his ranking among the inner circle of the order. He felt faint as the words left his mouth and turned a violet shade in the air.

 _This… isn´t like last time!_

The ground felt shaky. Trembling, portals opened, unleashing the monsters of the Ziggurat whose sole intent was to destroy everything in sight. Chaos reigned as wizards and monsters did battle to the death, both fading to dust upon defeat. Arc felt fatigued, nonetheless he drew his trusty wand, stitched and stained with eldritch skin.

One last portal appeared, and Examiner Cepheus strolled in, giving him a focused smile.

 _It was all a trap…_

Arc dropped the sword and fell backwards in horror of the people dying around him, Cepheus waltzing towards him, scrapping his sword to throw grinded sparks at him for further humiliation.

"Why…?"

Still smiling wickedly, the monster stopped for a moment.

"Imprisoned by the few I had blessed… I! The great Cepheus! Reduced to a test for my tormentors, not only being restrained in my abilities, but losing to cheaters such as yourself. I could stand it no longer and seeing as I was never going to receive an apology… wait, why are your lips moving?"

He swung his sword too late, Arc had already vanished thanks to Ultimate Teleportation.


	9. Chapter 9: The Goddess

Chapter 9 The Goddess

He was lying on the floor in the Breach. Immediately, the Gungeoneers flocked over to him, confused at his sudden appearance.

"Manservantes! Check his breathing!"

"It´s some type of magic. Not the normal kind."

"Get… the… Sorceress…" Arc fell unconscious.

When he reawakened, he was hit with the blunt hammer of reality. Everybody he knew was dead. Because of Cepheus.

 _I´m going to kill him. No mercy. No compassion._

He was going for another Gungeon run.

He fell out of bed, already out of breath and wheezing heavily. A snap of fingers and he was levitated back onto his feet.

"Tsk tsk. Such a hurry. Not even a thank you?"

 _The Sorceress!_

He bowed hastily to her and her armored guards.

"Consider this a repaying of my debt. You may leave now. If you wish to speak to me about anything, I´ll be here, but make no mistake, I take no pleasure from talking to peasants."

"Thank you, great lady of magic."

He walked out and was met with a punch to the face from the Pilot. He must have hit with more force than he had intended as Arc had fallen into the Gungeon only to reappear on the floor thanks to the Gun that can Kill the Past.

"Get. Out. You. Bastard." He muttered very quietly, restraining his fists.

Sealing his bloody nose with a cloth he had in storage, he pushed the Pilot away from him with magic and ran off to the Gungeon. The Hunter stood before him, staring in disbelief.

"Caster, is what the Pilot said true? Did you-?!"

Her piercing gaze made him feel ashamed, so he pushed her aside and ran into the Gungeon, focusing solely on mastering it with his completely overpowered and unfair abilities to distract himself from his current situation, he laughed maniacally as he pumped his enemies full of conjured lead, "gunjured" lead technically. He still couldn´t believe the Gungeon had allowed him these spells.

When he reached the Hollow, he stopped and pondered.

 _What if this isn´t the Gungeon´s will? It did take my weapons and items, showing clear favor to the Pilot…_

He shook his head and entered the boss room. He saw four stone pillars with statues of some heroic looking Gundead stomp the floor and join ranks.

"The Spellcaster VS the Kill Pillars!"

The patterns were difficult, and the cursed bullets made him anxious. When they started stomping around, that was when he got blown back by sheer knockback. He managed to hurt them far more when they were separate because he could see his bullets breaking the statues piece by piece. He ignited his flame hand and decided that the flame hand plus the double arc of bullets was the best way to attack while still giving him room to operate with flanking. Soon, three pillars collapsed. The fourth transformed with menacing eyes into a different Bullet Kin, one that looked far more formidable. Until it crumbled before him.

"…What?"

He heard his book update. He checked it, still confused.

 _Cursed Bullets require more time to gunjure up but are more powerful than regular ones._

He tried it out, baffled at this further addition to his arsenal, deciding it was high time he cracked open the Ammonomicon and started reading up about these entities of the Hollow as he walked into the elevator. Did a giant hollow bullet that fell downwards count as an elevator?

"Ancient effigies of discharged Gundead heroes animated by vengeful spirits. Few Gundead can match the malice of these forgotten idols. Perhaps they are bound by a yet darker power? The avatar of Kaliber in the mortal plane, the High Priest leads the Order of the True Gun."

He began to wonder about this Kaliber. She seemed to be a goddess. He searched the Ammonomicon for more references to her as he sat down in the elevator room in the Forge, he found three quotes from what appeared to be holy scripture which he also read out loud.

"Gunesis 1:1. In the beginning the Gungeon was formless and void, and bullets moved over the face of the deep. Revolvations 2:1. These are the words of Kaliber, she who grips the seven sidearms in her hands and walks among the six loaded chambers. When the Gun is drawn to the heart of the pacifist, and when the chambers are empty, and the shells are spent, the Last of the Jammed will ascend to seal the Breach forever. Revolvations 22:12. As with all things, the Gun must eventually end; the final Bullet will leave the chamber, and all will be reloaded."

Before him, an item appeared. He couldn´t suppress his curiosity and picked it up only to be cursed. He sighed and read its entry as well.

"Sixth Chamber. Blessing of Kaliber?! Feeds upon curse… One of the three artifacts that led to the creation of the Jammed. As their curses grow louder, Kaliber smiles upon the bearer of this portentous omen."

Thinking about this information put together, he saw an error.

 _There are only five chambers in the Gungeon, I´m in the last one, the Forge._

Yet it clearly said Kaliber walked among the _six_ loaded chambers. The item also counted that many.

Six, like most revolvers.

Arc shook his head and opted not to think too much about it lest he end up being consumed by dread. He had a harder time getting through the Forge because of the curse increasing the number of Jammed enemies ready to wreck his last shot at getting the life he had always wanted. Eventually he made it to the skull door, out of breath and low on health. He still needed to find the Blacksmith and teleported using the system the Gungeon provided (as it didn´t allow Ultimate Teleportation, once again confusing Arc with the rules as to what was allowed and why).

He practically threw himself into the Blacksmith´s room, desperate to buy health. He scowled when he saw Cadence with Ox talking to the Blacksmith. He approached the desk and, ignoring Cadence completely, asked the Blacksmith for the needed bullet. Quickly assembling one without breaking her sentence or eye contact, she handed it over and he teleported back to the skull door, Cadence´s attempts at getting him to talk to her proving futile.

 _And I forgot to purchase any health because I´m a moron._

A strange wind closed the door behind him and the teleporter turned off, green glow fading. He couldn´t access the map. He took some deep breaths as he realized he was hyperventilating.

 _Wind? In the Gungeon?_

Nothing left to do but fight the Dragun, yet when he stepped in, everything went blank.

When he reawakened, the Dragun was dead and the Master Round for floor 5 stood before him. Fear began to take over as he paced around the room, trying to find an explanation. He took a deep breath and took the Master Round.

 _Am I going insane? It doesn´t matter, I can´t focus on that until Cepheus is dead._

He single-mindedly ran towards the Gun, not seeing the strange floor until it was too late, a large skeletal hand dragged him down.

He woke up screaming. A large Bullet Kin with multiple arms, holding three handguns, a hooked blade, a bowl and a human skull, with three eyes and spikes adorning the head, stood before him.

"Welcome to Bullet Hell!"

Foreboding and imposing, her voice resonated within the Gungeon, echoing with power.

"W-Who are y-y-you?! W-ha-?" cowering next to the wall, Caster tried shooting, his bullets stopped and circled around her before returning to mark the area above him, singing his hair ever so slightly.

"I am Kaliber, Goddess who reigns supreme over the Gungeon!"

Lightning crackled from her fingers as she lifted her arms up, each carrying something intimidating, she looked like the last Kill Pillar.

"You wonder why I have deigned you worthy of gazing upon my preferred form, perhaps? Eons ago, I had a disciple who worshiped me and whom I gave my blessing. He was a sorcerer and he loved me so much that he dedicated himself to making my dream come true, thus, the Gun was born and the Gungeon soon after. Alas, he turned his back on me and deemed himself the true Lord of the Gungeon and the Master of MYservants! I felt so betrayed by the mortal I had deemed worthy of my time I banished him here, yet still he lives on as the leader of the Gundead. I have been lying in wait, searching for another magic user to grace these halls, some have come before you, but they were not tenacious enough to warrant my attention."

She smiled wickedly.

"After you threw your comrade into the fire, I knew I could count on you for my plan. However, I could not sway the traitor to see you as a threat as you sauntered past his gaze and used the Gun. I had given up and resolved to come up with something new… when you returned to my embrace, I was so pleased! I was sorrowed to hear of your defeat, but it works out in both our favors so long as you agree to my plan, lest I kill you. I´d rather you comply. I´ve… always held a soft spot for sorcerers."

She put down one weapon and held out a hand with that comically content expression that Gundead bore.

 _Is it just me or are her "cheeks" flushing?_

He stood up, a bit amused that they were similar in height and shook her hand.

"Excellent! I will let you use the Gun a second time if you do as I say, and I have only one command. Kill the traitor. He is here, in Bullet Hell. Beware, for he is powerful, and he has command of the legions you have faced. I will provide you with yet another blessing…"

"It was you who gave me the Sixth Chamber?"

"Yes, I also took control of you through my Avatar, the High Priest, to defeat the Dragun who heeds only one law: defending the Gun at all costs. It listens to no one, not even myself, so I was left with no other option than to slay it through you. Behold, accept my third blessing, one that used to belong to the traitor before he sullied my name!"

She granted him the Riddle of Lead, which healed him and gave him a feeling of courage, strength and speed. She vanished in white fire, leaving Arc to face the nightmarish landscape of the last Chamber by himself.

"Kill a sorcerer, shouldn´t be too hard. I´ve done that before sort of"

A bit of an understatement really.

 _Does Cepheus count as a sorcerer? He is more of a demon…_

He set off, conquering room of room with careful precision and renewed resolve. This hunt was just practice for Cepheus. The long tortuous halls of Bullet Hell were slowly whittling him down, even with his powerful ability to fill the rooms with bullets and cursed fire. Only the thought of beheading Cepheus drove him forward.

Eventually, he made it to the skull door where he promptly collapsed in a pile of sweat, deciding to go in once he could breathe again. Running about with all the Bullet spider things and those bullets that could change trajectory plus the enemies from other floors swarming him had exhausted him. He needed to rest.


	10. Chapter 10: The Lich

Chapter 10 The Lich

Before him was a skeleton with a dark blue shine and donning a cloak and a badass hat. He clutched a book in his left hand. Arc could hear his boney fingers cracking in preparation of drawing his weapon, a polished black revolver. His eyes were burning bullets.

"I am the Lich, the immortal Gungeon Master." His skull jaw didn´t move, the Gungeon itself seemed to be speaking.

"I control everything."  
 _Apparently not everything…_

"No one may use the Gun that can Kill the Past twice. That goes against my law. You stand before me to be taught a lesson in humility." He drew at the speed of light. Arc fearfully threw himself to the side as he heard a gunshot. The Lich laughed, making the floor rumble. A feint.

"How humiliating. This is the one who cleared the Gungeon twice? How pathetic."

"The Spellcaster VS the Lich!" boomed the anonymous announcer who was none other than the Lich himself.

Skillfully spinning his pistol around with his fingers, the Lich hummed as waves of bullets fired from all direction with random shots flung in-between. Arc vanished and took potshots at the Lich who growled and shot upwards, reinforcements joining the fray. He marked his enemy with a rune that disabled his ability to vanish.

 _There goes my advantage…_

Burning the lackeys and setting the Lich´s cloak on fire as he hit the deck only to get hit by the Lich´s homing bullet. He fired waves of bullets that Arc only barely avoided, then summoned more lackeys. Responding with the double arc of bullets from the High Priest and following it up with his own homing bullet, the Lich swerved to the side, but was hit by all three attacks.

"Arrogant child! I know every weapon, every pattern, every minion! You cannot surprise me!"

He spun and shot bullets that ricocheted much like the spider enemies which Arc was accustomed to at this point. He managed to conjure up the flying skulls. The Lich´s hat and cloak dissipated as he faded.

Arc was still breathing in fear, the Lich was still not dead, he just knew it.

The Lich´s hand dragged him further down.

Hastily getting off the floor, his eyes widened in fear for the Lich emerged from the pits of tar where tortured Gundead wailed and he was the size of the Dragun, bullets adorning his head like spikes. He shouted in anger as Arc set him on fire.

Ripping his rib cage open, bullets slithered out like the Ammoconda. The Lich slammed the ground, bullets flying off his bones in a sprawled pattern that didn´t come close to his target. Laughing at his foe, Arc took a hit from the bullets that came from the side.

Gritting his teeth as the Lich banged both fists on the ground, rows of bullets emerged from the walls with narrow lines of space between them. Arc shuffled forwards and backwards and then created the barrier with skulls rushing the Lich who swatted them like flies.

This bought Arc enough time to approach and have storms burst out of him, including chains to keep the traitor´s arms still. The enemy broke free quickly and opened his ribcage once more, this time rings of bullets came out of it, but the attack was interrupted by Arc´s fireball dealing the last bit of damage needed. He watched as the Lich exploded, feeling very satisfied.

Until he stood in an unknown location where the sky was purple and red, and the clouds were warped bullets.

He saw the pile of bullets fired by both sides reanimate like the Shelletons from above. The Lich remade his torso and head with glowing red eyes, bullets forming his limbs like chains.

"I cannot be bested! This is your end!"

He whirled around the stage, chains of bullets flashing about. Arc found an opening and found out that he couldn´t use any more magic. He pulled out a trick gun, he had two other weapons that had ammo, Smiley´s revolver and the crestfallen. He also had two blanks.

The real fight had begun.

The Lich threw all types of patterns at him: Chains that covered the battlefield, unpredictable slews of bullets like whirlpools, bullets lining up together like a boomerang and a rocket. Arc respected this dead man for his creativity. Respect wouldn´t save him though. He switched to the crestfallen as he ran out of ammunition. The frost slowed down the Lich, so Arc had more time to react to the assault. The Lich summoned bullets to fill up the entire platform minus his cone of vision, he began to rotate slowly, bullets holding in a disfigured line like a scanner. The Lich fired his limbs like rockets. Arc got blown back by the explosion hitting him in the chest. Both used the time to reload.

He switched to the revolver, hoping to finish him off now that he had seen all his tricks. Turns out after a few more shots that the Lich couldn´t keep up, his bullets limbs evaporated, and his golden skeletal torso stood on the ground, glaring silently in disbelief.

Kaliber appeared in a blast of white fire, she was holding the Gun that can Kill the Past. The Lich frantically shook his head failing to avoid the shot due to his lack of limbs. Kaliber smiled cruelly and kicked him to the ground before putting the gun to his forehead and pulling the trigger, shattering him into the void.

She turned around and her expression changed to one of contentment.

"Mortal! You have earned my thanks. What are you called?"

"M-My name is Ar-c."

"Fear not, Arc. We are not enemies. Take your prize."

She left in her signature white fiery explosion, leaving him the Gun that can Kill the Past.

He held it, took a deep breath to compose his thoughts and shot himself.

Once again, he stood before the door that led to the Examiner. The third time was the charm as he flawlessly defeated Cepheus in combat once more. Same position as last time with Arc holding a sword to the demon´s throat and listening to the speech and the scroll. Only this time, he chopped off Cepheus´ head and cut open his chest to make sure he was a being of flesh and blood.

The pools of blood and the organs in his ribcage were indeed proof. But it was still not enough, some demons could heal. Caster used the spell he had learned in the Gungeon from Kaliber to burn the corpse with cursed fire. It would never stop burning until every single cell in Cepheus´ body was reduced to ash.

Arc untied the sheath for the sword and wore it himself as his personal spoils. He wanted to take the mask as well but upon closer inspection the mask was just his face. He also took the staff.

 _Huh, and here I was thinking it was enchanted to change expression… Maybe I can make one in my spare time, wouldn´t count as a spoil though…_

He used the regular teleporter and appeared before the council and spectators who gave him a round of applause. They noticed he held no scroll.

"People of Greyhorn! The Examiner is dead by my hand. I now know the truth. The brotherhood has been built on the backs on demons! A demon bent on betraying them for his humiliation. It matters not if you believe in what I´ve said. I will not serve them a moment longer!" The brothers looked furious and ready to take him on right then and there. Luckily for Arc, he still had the spell they had forbidden Cepheus.

He vanished.

He stood in front of the closed Gungeon gate. This place held power, mystery and magic he had never dreamed existed, but it was also a prison, full of bitter depression and an angry Pilot.

Arc now had no home. No dream. No family.

But he had a future.

He tipped his hat to the Gungeon and turned away, walking down the mountain to see where the path would lead him, cloak bellowing in the wind as the sun set, making a mental note to send the Hunter a thank-you package and an apology gift to the Pilot. Maybe he´d even write to Cadence, if only out of curiosity.

He had high hopes and knew that with his experience and power, he would find a new dream to pursue.


End file.
